My ThreeYearOld Self
by TheYellingPlace
Summary: a weird talisman turns Willow into a three year old. an old friend pops up for a visit. almost pro Kennedy, so beware.
1. Willow what happened?

Disclaimer: Joss is god, Joss owns all.

This takes place in some alternate continuity during the seventh season. Willow's back in Sunnydale and the potentials have been introduced, but the First isn't an issue in the story. Also, I can't stand Kennedy, but in order for this to work, Kennedy, while not the central character, she does appear regularly. Again, I stress that this is in every way a W/T story.

It was a sunny morning in Southern California. Willow Rosenberg had been back from England for a couple of months now, and the Summers residence had since been infested by potential Slayers, who had been driving the Scoobies up the wall.

Willow was almost certain that the young women didn't mean to annoy them, but she still wasn't particularly fond of them.

She was currently sitting in her room on her bed. The bed that she had been privileged enough to share with Tara. Willow knew that she was supposed to be in the process of getting over Tara's death, but she couldn't. When she was left alone with her thoughts, her mind often backtracked to the previous years when she and Tara had been happily together. But before she was able to get too far into her thoughts, Kennedy walked into the room.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously. Willow jumped when she heard the Potential's voice; she had neither seen nor heard the girl come in. She tried to smile and Kennedy but failed miserably and sighed.

"I was meditating," she replied. "Need to keep those dark magicks away, you know?" Kennedy nodded.

"And you were thinking about her," Kennedy said, gestured to a photo on Willow's night-stand. It was a picture of Tara and Willow, with Miss Kitty Fantastico stretched out in Tara's lap. Willow could have easily lied to the young woman; could have said she wasn't. She had lied to the Scoobies, saying she didn't miss Tara too badly anymore. But she didn't lie to Kennedy. Instead, she looked down.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Kennedy said. She honestly didn't care much about Tara. All she knew was that Tara was Willow's girlfriend and so-called soulmate, whose life had been cut short by a stray bullet. She didn't understand why Willow couldn't just get over it; there were plenty of other girls in the world who could love her. But in order to try and get Willow to appreciate her, Kennedy needed to be supportive.

They were saved from any more awkward conversation by Giles, who was calling from the living room for Willow to take a look at something he'd found. Glad to be out of a conversation about Tara, Willow gave Kennedy an apologetic look and darted down the stairs. Even if she really did want to finally be able to talk to someone about missing Tara, now wasn't the right time.

"What's up?" she asked Giles. The two of them were standing in the living room, near the fireplace. Giles pointed to a strange looking talisman on the fireplace mantle.

"Did you, by chance, put that there?" she asked, referring to the talisman. He looked and sounded worried. Willow shook her head.

"Nope. I don't keep charms anymore. Potential lead to the dark veiny me." she semi-joked. "What is it?" she picked the talisman up to get a better look at it.

"Willow! don't-" a bright light surrounded the witch. "...touch...that..." Giles sighed, before removing and cleaning his glasses. He looked down at a suddenly miniature Willow expectantly. "I tried to warn you," he said, shaking his head. "That's why I didn't pick it up to show you. When handled by anyone but it's owner, it turns him or her into a child. The reason for this type of security is unknown, but it has been in use for hundreds of years." Willow glared up at him.

"And you couldn't have warned me earlier?" she whined in her little three-year-old voice. "You do know that this is so your fault for not telling me. Now someone is going to have to take care of me because I can barely reach the sink to wash my hands. And," she looked down, "I need clothes. see these? They're beyond too big. I can't move in these pants." She removed said pants, allowing her shirt to cover herself, and she could finally move.

Giles smiled. "Still your old self, eh? Well if I were you, I'd sit back and relax. This cannot be reversed until we find the matching talisman; a second talisman that is identical to this one. There are many in the world like this, but only one exact. It may take a while to find it." he told her.

"Xander" Willow called. she didn't feel like running around to find him, because she'd probably get trampled by a potential who didn't see her. She stood there with her hands on her hips until Xander came running in.

"Will?You sounded really funny just now. Actually I'm beginning to think that it's not you, but you know. What wrong, is-" Xander looked at his friend, who had her arms crossed and was glaring up at him.

"Giles forgot to warn me about something, and I did exactly what he was about to warn me not to do, and now I've shrunk. But I'm still me, see? I'm like, me, in the body of my three-year-old self." she stated.

"Merciful Zeus!" Xander cried. Within seconds, the rest of the Scoobies and the Potentials had come to see what his issue was.

"Xander! We heard you scream and then they decided that you're dying so we need to come rescue you, and..." Buffy stopped her babble as she, too, saw Willow. "Don't tell me that's Willow..." When both Xander and Willow nodded mutely, and Giles tried to smile, Kennedy demanded an explanation as to why she was a little girl.

As Willow explained about the "do not touch" talisman, as she called it, Anya exclaimed that she'd seen one just like it on the internet and would check it out, so long as someone else paid for it. As the ex-demon got to work, the others debated what to do with the red haired cutie. They all had to admit (even Spike, who had been following Buffy around) that Willow was a positively adorable little girl.

"she seriously needs clothing," Dawn offered. "I can take her out shopping, if you're all too busy...?"

"I'm short, not stupid!" Willow cried. "I can shop for myself! really I can..." Everyone stared at her in silence, and Chao Ahn rushed in.

"I knew someone was missing..." Buffy mumbled. Chao Ahn began babbling wildly in Cantonese, waving her arms, very obviously concerned about something. Perhaps she saw the flash card monsters? Giles helpfully translated.

"She's very excited to have a little girl in the house, as it reminds her of home. She loves children and thinks Willow is adorable." He smiled kindly at the Asian Potential, who just stared at him. Then she ran off, returning seconds later with a little blonde girl in her arms. The girl did not appear to enjoy being carried, and slid out of the Potential's arms. She was wearing only a shirt, courtesy of Chao Ahn's limited wardrobe.

Everybody looked at the small girl. Small she was; she was smaller than Willow, though they appeared to be the same age. The Scoobies were trying to find out who she was, asking her questions and trying to pick her up. She ignored them all, which left them baffled. Willow knew who the small girl was though, and ran to hug her.

"You're here! you came back! But...why did you come back? and, and why are you like me?" She babbled.

"You know each other?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Willow, you have strange friends." There was a silence as the ironic comment set in. Letting go of the blonde girl, Willow smiled and looked like she'd been fed sugar all day. Spike picked up "Willow's Friend", and looked her in the eye. He smiled slightly as she gave him a serious look that he'd only seen one person give him in his entire unlife.

"Welcome back, Glinda." he whispered.

Yes it was very predictable, but that's life for ya. I'v got more written up, but first I want to see if anyone likes it. I'm not posting anything that people don't want. so review, if you like it. It gets less boring, I swear.


	2. Tara?

Sorry it took so long to update; my dad erased the hard drive, and chaos ensued. I'd had this written up over the weekend, but no time to post it. So here it is, monday, and I'm attempting to rewrite it. Thanks to the people who submitted reviews! and if I can relocate what I've got written on my other fic, I'll update that this week if possible. enough from me though, onto the fic.

My ThreeYearOld Self pt 2

The Scoobies stared at the little girl, who was indeed Tara. In return, she smiled back shyly, and greeted them all.

The Potentials, for the most part, didn't understand who Tara was; they just cooed over the cuteness of the two little girls. Kennedy, however, knew exactly who the little blonde was and what she meant to Willow. She couldn't bring herself to hate Tara, even though she was in a way Kennedy's rival. While the potential wanted to be with Willow, she knew in her heart that if the two were to return to their normal selves, Willow would want to be with Tara. She turned to look at the tiny blonde, whose hair was being loosely braided by Vi. Amanda could be heard asking to paint Tara's fingernails.

"How come no one ever did this for me when I was older?" Tara joked to Willow. Red was also going being asked for permission for nail-painting by both Rona and Molly. Unlike Tara, however, Willow didn't like being pampered. She saw Kennedy and knew what the girl was thinking. Shaking off the two girls, she walked over to the Hispanic girl. As Kennedy knelt down to talk to Willow, little Red gave her a hug.

"You know what she means to me. You don't have to like her. But now that I've gotten her back, don't go hurting her feelings. She's a sweetie; you're going to love her." she told Kennedy. "Oh crap, now they're after me." she whined, referring to the two potentials who had been asking to paint her nails. "Pick me up!" she whispered, lifting her arms. Kennedy picked her up without question. She had to respect Willow's decision to remain friends; perhaps she could like this Tara after all.

"Willow doesn't want you to play with her, so bug off." She told Rona and Molly. Willow nodded in agreement.

"I don't know what we're going to do with them." Giles stated, looking from Willow to Tara. The two had completely forgotten he and the rest of the Scoobies were even in the room. "But we need to find how and why Tara has returned in this state. I highly doubt that it was a side effect of Willow touching the talisman..unless it belongs to you?" he directed the question to the short blonde girl, who was paying him no mind up until this point.

"No. not mine. But um...I can explain why I came back like this..." Tara said in a quiet voice. Everyone in the room looked at her, surprised that she knew why she had joined the living as practically a baby. All the eyes on her, all the people she didn't know, frightened her as she explained.

"I-I didn't l-like having to l-live on i-in the a- afterlife..ummm, W-Willow w-wasn't there w-with m-me...s-so I asked the P- Powers that B-Be to send me back...B-But I-I needed to make sure that W-Willow d-didn't...um...t-that she hadn't moved on? S-So I asked them to s-send me back l-like this, s-so he can keep m-me forever if, if she h-has someone n-new. B-But, umm, i-if she h-hasn't? I-I will be a-able t-to turn b-back i-into myself i-in about a m-month or so..."

By now she was looking at her feet; too many new people at once in the same room with her caused her to revert to stuttering badly. Willow stared at her.

"You did that for me? you weren't in any hell dimension, and you still came back because of me?" she was absolutely dumbfounded that Tara would give up her afterlife to be back with her.

"They.Need.Clothes!!! Has nobody been listening to me?!" Dawn interrupted. The other scoobies looked at the two girls and the clothing that they wore, and nodded.

"I have to be in Morocco in ten minutes, so I can't take them." Anya said. Not like she wanted to. A single woman with two children - even if they weren't her own - was typically found unattractive by men. Not that she cared; she just didn't like it.

"I have to be at the...uh...the site. Also, I don't do girls' shopping. Girls do that." Xander offered weakly.

"I'd love to take them," Spike said honestly. "But its day, and the sun, so there's no way that you'd find me taking them out." Of all of them, Spike did have the most logical excuse.

"Geez! I said I'd take them!" Dawn whined. The rest of the group really needed to start listening to her; they were creating their own problems. A couple of potentials, Kennedy included, offered to go along with them. Most of the girls were just going along to play with little Tara. They knew what Willow was like as an adult, when she could stop them and glare at them and frighten them. But Tara was new, and cute, and she seemed to like them a little.

Buffy let the girls take the toddlers to the mall one one condition; Willow and Tara were to be carried to and from the mall. There was no way that they were risking the little girls getting hurt. Willow agreed to it, but Tara shook her head frantically. It wasn't anything personal, she just didn't like being held by a girl she didn't know. It was a trust issue.

Before anyone else had the chance to pick her up, she was scooped up into Dawn's arms. The former Key explained to the potentials that Tara was always very shy and was to be handled only by herself for the duration of the trip unless the little girl who wasn't stated otherwise. Willow was picked up by Kennedy, who sent everyone a glare that read "mine". Nobody questioned her.

"You take care of them!" Anya shouted enthusiastically to the group of young ladies as Giles handed Dawn his credit card.

"And remember. you are buying necessities for them, not yourselves," Giles reminded them kindly. The Potentials and Dawn nodded, and Willow and Tara exchanged evil smirks. They were going to be brats simply because they could and they could get away with it. They were children for the second time; the chances of that happening, even to the Scooby Gang, was slim to none.

So off they all went. It wouldn't be a long walk, and it was still a wonderful day outside. The current teens chatted merrily amongst themselves, and Willow and Tara chatted about what had gone on since the blonde's death. Tara admitted to Willow that she had known when the redhead had flayed Warren and tried to end the world.

"I won't lie, Willow. I watched from the Summerlands; I saw what you were doing." she said in a quiet, serious voice that somehow betrayed her true age. Willow looked down, knowing that there was no way she could really make up for what she had done. How Kennedy and Dawn didn't hear them, neither girl knew. But they didn't care. Tara continued.

"But I knew that you were going to be okay. I knew that something would stop you without causing you death. I could feel it, because I am and always will be connected to you. I love you, Willow. " she whispered, so softly that Willow could barely hear her. Then she smirked. "I bet that sounded hilarious coming from a three year old," both girls shared a few giggles and they sat back and enjoyed the walk.

Sorry it was so short, but I have a billion finals to study for and thus I don't have a lot of time. But school gets out next week, so I should be able to update a bit more often. Please review!!!


	3. let's go shopping!

HI, I'm back AGAIN. Sorry it takes so long...I have issues. and absolutely no patience. My friend and I are doing a rewrite of season 7 where Tara comes back as the First...but that just got put into thought yesterday. Im actually currently on computer ban (not that its stopping me) so I have time to plan this thing out. Also I've seriously lost what I had written of the other fic but I'll keep looking.

After some amount of time, the bunch of girls were outside of the Gap in the Sunnydale Mall.

"Okay you two, you have to stay with us," Dawn reminded Willow and Tara. Tara squirmed out of Dawn's arms and began wandering around. Seeing Tara, Willow jumped down to join her.

"I don't like the clothing that they have here," Tara whined softly, tugging on Dawn's pants. "None of this is what I would ever wear. and I want a pretty skirt." Willow, hearing this, went over to her former girlfriend and hugged her. Tara hugged back and kissed Willow's cheek in a friendly fashion, in what was, to the potentials and any passersby, incredibly adorable.

pulling back, Tara looked at Willow, smiling. "Wanna go for coffee sometime? or...since we're little we could do juice or something?"

"sure!" Willow replied, "but first we need clothing. Look! Osh Kosh! they've gotta have something for you there." Tara nodded her agreement, and on the quiet count of three, they began running for their lives. The teenagers (who had been looking at clothing in their sizes) didn't notice the missing witches until Willow was dragging Tara over to a particular clothing rack.

By the time the Potentials reached the two adults-turned-toddler, Willow and Tara were giggling and pointing out outfits that they liked.

"What do you two think you're doing?! We could have lost you!" Dawn scolded the two. Tara had a hurt look on her face, while Willow just looked up at the group of girls with a glare.

"We may be shorter than you, but we're still older than you! you can't expect us to act like children just because we look like them. Give us a few days and maybe we'll relapse or something, but as far as we're concerned, I'm still twenty-one." Willow said sternly, still glaring.

Molly chuckled. When everyone looked at her, she explained how funny it was to see a three year old speak like an adult, and how cute it was to see her try to pull off the glare. Rona, who had decided that Tara needed a hug, picked her up. the second she felt herself going up, Tara burst into sobs. Just as quickly as she had picked her up, Rona put her back down and backed away from the crying blonde.

"leeme 'lone!" Tara sobbed. People were looking at them, but Tara hated being picked up by girls she barely knew. plus it was kind of scary being so small, when, last time you knew, you were taller than some of them. OR would have been, if you'd known them. She stopped crying when Willow hugged her again, and the two loudly demanded clothing.

"Fine, fine, it's your loss if you wanna shop here," Dawn said, trying to get them back to the Gap.

"Tara likes the clothing here, so this is where we're gonna shop," Willow muttered, grabbing Tara by the hand and running off into the store. The came back not 5 minutes later with their selected clothing. Tara's consisted mainly of little skirts and tees, while Willow's were a skirt, some pants, and a few tees.

"We want these." Tara said quietly, offering Dawn her clothing. Willow copied her, handing her clothing to Kennedy. Both girls shrugged and paid for the clothing. The second they were out of the store, Tara decided she wanted more.

"I'm hungry," she stated, nearly on the verge of whining. Molly picked her up, but before she had the chance to scream, the Potential had her hand over the three year old's mouth.

"Let me carry you, and we'll get you food." she told Tara. The toddler in question glared, but knew how hungry she was. Willow, who wanted to be within arm's reach of Tara, demanded that Molly pick her up too.

"o...kay..." she said. She freed one arm from holding Tara and used it to scoop up the redhead. Tara relaxed immediately, and even gave Molly a bright, sincere smile before resting her head on the potential's shoulder.

As they all walked to the food court, Molly felt special. She was carrying both girls, and Tara had shone her first smile directed at anyone but Dawn or Willow at her. But before they reached the food court, Tara lifted her head from Molly's shoulder.

"I want that!" she cried, pointing. Everyone looked to what Tara was pointing at; a slightly fancy child-sized dress in some store. Willow smiled.

"I'll buy it for you," little Red promised, giving Tara a dazzling smile.

"Stop flirting! you're three year olds! It's disturbing!" Dawn hissed. Willow and Tara shared a look. They had asked for it. Instantly, Tara began screaming and kicking Molly, who dropped her, which made Tara cry. Passersby took pity on the angelic-looking girl throwing a fit in the middle of the mall.

One woman even stopped and bent down to ask the sobbing girl what was wrong. Willow helpfully explained that Tara wanted a dress, and that her **sister** wouldn't buy it for her. Which of course made the teens look like the bad guys. So, needless to say, Tara got her dress. Willow complained that she was hungry.

Finally they got to the food court, and ended up getting Chinese. Willow and Tara were completely ignoring the teens, who were talking about movies and the current trends. There were many comments about boys and who the girls had crushes on.

Neither Willow nor Tara really cared to talk about those particular topics. So the two girls were talking about the old times when they had been together as a couple. Which brought up the topic of Willow's current love life.

"Kennedy likes me..." she told Tara very quietly.

"Oh...thats...that's good then..." was Tara's half-hearted reply.

"No," Willow responded. "it's bad...I mean she's a nice girl, and stuff. But I'd rather be able to ask you out...I don't do magick at all anymore; I don't have any supplies...I'm good now, I swear." she pled. She didn't care if she and Tara had the bodies of three year olds; they were twenty-one now, and they would act like it if they so chose.

"I believe you, Willow. A-and I think that I'd love to go out with you. But you do realize that we currently can't do more than hug...stuff like that..." She said, smiling.

"We can snuggle too!" Willow insisted. "It'll be fun, I promise!" she laid a hand over her girlfriend's, and they giggled. Dawn and the others looked at them, and Tara sent them her long-lost lopsided grin. Willow just looked at Tara and smiled. After a moment of cuteness, Tara yawned.

"You two wanna go home now?" Kennedy asked. Willow and Tara nodded simultaneously, and Kennedy picked Willow up. Vi reached for Tara, who didn't protest.

"Piggyback?" Tara asked her hopefully. Vi smiled and draped Tara over her back. When Willow demanded the same of Kennedy, everyone laughed. On the short walk home, both Willow and Tara fell asleep.

When the Potentials and Dawn arrived back at the house, both Kennedy and Dawn told Giles that they were never taking the two girls out in public again.

"What happened?" he asked. Surely the two couldn't be too troublesome. They were Willow and Tara, after all.

"Tara just kept throwing fits about everything! And then? Willow was flirting with her nonstop - and she flirted back! It was horrible! Giles, they're monsters!" Tara, who had been woken by the yelling, toddled over to Giles and hugged his leg. Willow followed soon after, hugging his other leg.

"Tara, Willow. Dawn and the others say you caused some trouble with them today. Is this true?" he asked them kindly. Both girls shook their heads rapidly and looked up at him.

"Do you think Tara even knows how to be a brat? You know she wasn't before she...and look at her family history! She doesn't have a bratty bone in her body!" Willow argued, defending her girlfriend.

"We were hungry, Mister Giles. We aren't used to needing food as often because we've got smaller stomachs now. But we didn't mean anything..." Tara offered quietly.

"I know you didn't. They just aren't used to dealing with the needs of small children. You can't blame them for that, and please, next time try to go easier with them." Giles had to admit that he had fallen in love with the two little girls before him.

There were absolutely adorable and they wouldn't try to cause chaos. He knew it. Tara was so innocent, and Willow was obviously still head over heels for her. He also couldn't see precious Tara throwing a fit at all, never mind in a public, crowded place.

"Mister Giles, can I watch TV?" Tara asked. She was getting used to being a child now, and she liked it. She would heed Giles's request to be easy on the teens, but she was going to have fun too.

"Tara," Giles said, looking at her. "You know you needn't ask. Of course you can." The blonde in question lifted her arms and pouted. Giles smiled. "So that's what you were after," he said, picking her up. She rested her head on his shoulder, and it was then that he vowed she would have a perfectly happy second childhood.

Her past with her biological family must have been hell for her, and he wanted her to have happy childhood memories from her second family. Of all the scoobies, Tara deserved this second childhood. He would stop at nothing to help her achieve it.

Carrying her over into the living room, he sat her on the sofa and kissed her forehead. Tara smiled up at him, and soon after Willow waddled in to join her. For good measure, Giles kissed Willow's forehead also before leaving the room.

After he left, Willow looked at Tara and scooted closer. "You have him wrapped around your finger! How'd you do it?" She asked. Tara shrugged. It wasn't her goal or anything, though it was nice.

"well lookie. You...me...alone..." Willow started. Tara gave her a frightened look.

"What's going on in that mind of yours?" she asked little Red, almost afraid. Willow looked at her confused. "Nothing's going on in MY mind, though I'm concerned about YOURS." she stated, giggling. Tara looked at her and asked her what she meant.

"I meant that we didn't get to sleep very long, and I'm still tired...you are too, aren't you?" Tara nodded. "Well, you agreed that we could snuggle. So can we? pleeeeeeease?" she asked, attempting to give Tara puppy-dog eyes.

Tara just stretched her little body out on her side on the sofa. Willow copied her, draping her arm over Tara's side. After a few minutes, they were both sound asleep and thus neither of them noticed the click and flash of a camera.


	4. It's not my fault!

My Three-year-old-self part 4

Spike crept out of the living room as quietly as he'd snuck in. He didn't know what had made him do that. He'd never admit to anyone, but he thought the girls were absolutely adorable. The blonde witch was a sweetheart most of the time, and mini Red hadn't been particularly nasty to him recently. Therefore he had nothing against either of them right now.

"Whatcha doin'?" Xander asked loudly, coming from the kitchen. He had seen Spike go into the living room and decided to scare him. Or protect the girls…depending on what the blonde vampire was doing. Spike jumped, and hissed at Xander.

"Bloody Hell! The girls are sleepin' in there and you shouldn't be wakin' them up!"

"Well Willow I know can sleep through anything, and Tara…well, I just have a feeling that I wouldn't wake her up either. On the other hand, maybe I should check on them to make sure you didn't do anything. Say, Spike, what's that in your hand?"

"Uh, 's nothin'. My lighter is all." Spike tried to stick the camera in his pocket, but the pocket wasn't big enough.

"Is that a…camera? You were taking pictures of two little girls sleeping? **Stalker!**"

The vampire glared at him.

"I like them a little. All right? I don't go around wastin' film on somethin' I don't care about. But those two aren't bad. And don't give me that look. _You_ think they're the cutest little things."

"Well Yeah…" Xander replied after a moment. "Yeah I do. But I'm alive, I don't think that dark and dreary equals happiness, and I'm not evil." He looked at the mini witches and gave in. "But yeah. You're right. But you do _not _let anyone know that I agreed with you on something. Got it?" Spike nodded.

"Yeah." He turned towards the kitchen, on his way to the basement. "Oh. Harris, a word of advice: keep your demon girl away from the munchkins. Way those two act, she'll want a handful of her own." He walked away, back to the basement, without looking to see Xander's reaction.

"Okay! Now I'm _really_ going to the site. Buffy and Giles took the girls to train god knows where, Anya went shopping, and Dawn…. well she's with either Anya or Buffy. You can babysit." He called after the vampire, almost wanting to wake the girls. Just so he could be sure Spike would have to deal with them. The blonde vampire stalked towards Xander.

"You're bloody kidding right? I heard the Nibblet's story; I'm not watchin' them!"

"No, I'm leaving you here with the girls. When someone gets back they'll probably pay you. You know. If you don't kill them first. Which you'd better not, cause if you do, before you know it you'll be kissing daylight." Xander warned.

"Yeah Spike! You have to play with us and keep us entertained or else we're going to cry." Willow said, sleepily rubbing her eyes and walking over to them.

Xander took the opportunity to sneak out the door, leaving the vampire to watch the little redhead. Who knew when Tara would wake up; she wasn't in a hurry to do anything.

"Great. Big Bad babysits two helpless girls. So what you wanna do, Red?" He asked in an extremely bored voice.

"Ice cream." She stated plainly, walking into the kitchen. "Buffy has Cookie Dough Fudge Mint Chip for us. Even if it's really hers, we live here too."

"I want ice cream too!" Tara squealed, flying off the sofa and into the kitchen before tugging excitedly on Spike's pants. "Please?"

The vampire shook his head. "Too close to dinnertime, bird. After dinner. Tell ya what though. In the meantime, you can pick the first activity to do. Yeah?" He figured that Tara being…well, Tara, would just want to watch TV or something. Not so. The little blonde ran out of the kitchen, and came back moments later with some old clothes that had obviously belonged to Dawn at some point.

"Put these on!" She offered him the small pink tutu she held in her hands. Spike panicked. But then he remembered something important.

"Pet, that wouldn't fit me if Slayer beat me to bits." The small witch pouted, before perking up immensely. Spike feared for his life. Tara mumbled something incoherently, and -poof- the tutu was Spike-sized.

"Now you put it on!" she cheered. Willow plopped on the floor and pouted.

"Well… all right. But only for a minute, since the Slayer's not here, or Harris, or anyone else who would care." Muttering to himself about **'**going soft**'**, he retreated to the bathroom. How was he supposed to know the damn thing was going to be so hard to get into? Hearing noises and hoping the girls hadn't gotten into the ice cream, he darted to the kitchen.

Only he was stopped in the living room. Potentials. Potentials were playing little games with little girls. Potentials meant…

"Spike? What the _hell_ are you doing in that outfit?!" Spike turned to look at Buffy, who looked more than disgusted.

"Little bird over there made me do it!" Tara looked up at him and waved. Willow ran to Buffy and grabbed her leg.

"Buffy, he scared us! Me and Tara? We just wanted ice cream, and then he found that and then he put it on, and then he scared us!" Buffy looked to Tara, who was trying to play with Kennedy's long hair. The Potential in question was trying to look like she wasn't having fun.

"You're going to blame this on _Tara_?" Buffy ask Spike, unbelievingly. The Potentials were periodically looking up at Spike and stifling their laughter.

"Damn right she did!" he insisted. Tara shook her head, wide-eyed and innocent looking.

"No." she said quietly yet solidly.

"Come on bird! I'll give you the ice cream you wanted!"

"That's bribery," Willow said.

Again Tara shook her head. "Spike looks funny."

"Maybe you should just go change, Spike." Buffy sighed.

"I think he should keep it on," Willow objected. "He looks better like that. Brings out the lack of color in his cheeks."

Tara left Kennedy to join Buffy and Willow. "You look really pretty." She told Spike cutely.

"Admit it, bird. You're the reason I'm wearin' this thing." He demanded. When Tara shook her head again, the vampire picked her up. "Now then. Until you admit that this is your entire fault, you'll be travelin' with me. Say bye to Red." The second Tara realized that he was serious, she kicked him as hard as she could.

He stared at her. "Not goin' to cut it, luv." He almost snickered. Vampire Strength definitely had its advantages.

"Fine. I asked him to put it on." She told Buffy very quietly. Then Tara's little voice grew louder. "But I didn't physically put it on him so it's still his fault and I want to be put down right now cause he smells bad and did he always smell bad and-" she took in a deep breath.

"Finally. Mini-Glinda runs out of air." Spike deadpanned. He looked at Willow, who _still_ clung to Buffy's leg. "And you. You corrupted her. She used to be all quiet and gentle. Now she's just like you! Slayer, find someone to shut her up. After the stunt those two pulled, I'm not comin' up here when its not a full house."

With that, the vampire headed back to his basement home before Buffy could try to persuade him otherwise. The Slayer stared down at her little friends.


	5. Don't Leave Me!

So...LOOOONG time no update. I've since graduated both high school AND college, was hospitalized 4 times and underwent 2 major surgeries...and I edited the first four chapters so they're not as poorly written as they have been for the past few years. I have a lot of free time in my life now, and have been internally nagged to work to complete at least one, if not all, of my fanfics. So here, some two, almost three years later, I bring you all chapter 5 of this work.

My ThreeYearOldSelf Part 5

The next morning, arrangements had been made for Willow and Tara to be transported to the Hyperion Hotel in Los Angeles, to be guarded and cared for by Angel and his crew. The official reason, Buffy stated, was to protect the young girls from any lurking dangers. With limited babysitters and busy housemates, something could easily happen to either miniature witch.

Of course, the part that Buffy _hadn't_ told Angel was that the girls seemed to be minor troublemakers. Part of her reasoning for not telling him may have been out of devotion to her best friend and love of the blonde who had been taken from the Scoobies so suddenly the previous year. To be honest, she knew that if it were she who had been changed into a child, she would most likely behave far worse than the two girls combined - she knew that they were just looking for entertainment; that neither witch meant any harm. At least they weren't toying with magicks.

It was arranged that Xander would drive the girls to L.A., and Buffy would accompany them and make sure they didn't cause any mischief in the car on the way there. Buffy and Faith had agreed that Faith would be able to keep an eye on the Potentials for a few days in order to allow Buffy to get the mini witches situated in their new temporary home. Xander would return to Sunnydale after dropping them off; Angel had offered Buffy a return trip after the girls were settled.

Dawn and the Potentials were not pleased to see the little girls go. They were the only real source of entertainment for the slayers-in-training, and without them, all they really had to occupy their time was training, movies, and chatter.

Willow and Tara themselves were displeased about being moved. Truthfully, keeping two small children in a house where the occupants were too busy to be able to devote all of their attention to them, especially in a place where demons and vampires were very real threats, was a safety hazard for the little girls. Even if in reality they were much older, they were still defenseless against evil.

Willow was mostly only annoyed at leaving. She wanted to continue helping Buffy - just because she was little didn't mean she was incapable of researching or other out-of-the-way tasks. Tara was, as expected, nervous. It was bad enough that she had been subjected to being the Potentials' new pet, but now that she had more or less grown accustomed to them, she was being moved. To a place where, after a day or two, the only person in her company that she would really know was Willow. Not that knowing Willow was an issue, it was just that she was used to having at least Dawn and Giles there to look out for her.

She had heard of Angel. And a girl named Cordelia had been mentioned a couple of times, but that was all Tara knew of Buffy's friends in L.A. In the back of her mind, Tara thought that perhaps that was part of the reason they were being sent there; Willow wouldn't act out unless Tara planned on joining her, and in a strange place (to Tara at least) that would not be something that would likely happen.

Hours after the initial phone call to L.A., Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Tara were a mere 20 minutes from the Hyperion. Of course, Xander had made the mistake of feeding the girls halfway through the trip. Neither he nor anyone else in the car had thought about the fact that by the time they reached the hotel, both little girls would be miserable and in pain.

"_Why_ did you feed us?" Willow whined, shifting in her seat. "I really REALLY have to go and this is all your fault because _you_ fed us and you knew better! Tara and I are used to being older and being able to hold it longer but you should know better! Right Tara?"

Tara, who was doing her own version of "The Potty Dance," just looked up and frowned, her eyebrows furrowed. If she concentrated hard enough, she'd be fine until they reached the hotel.

Buffy turned around from her spot in the front passenger seat and watched the girls sympathetically. Willow was just cross, and Tara wouldn't acknowledge anyone or anything. Shaking her head and smiling, Buffy told both girls to hold on, and they'd be reaching their destination within minutes.

By the time the car stopped, both girls had unbuckled their seatbelts and were ready to jump out of the car. Willow noticed a tear or two had leaked from Tara's eye, but the little blonde girl was determined to appear as calm and collected as possible. Xander, being himself, scooped the little girl up and, with Willow hot on his heels, raced into the building, demanding to the nearest member of the AI Team (who just happened to be Wesley) directions to a bathroom for the little girl.

Buffy entered the hotel at a slower pace, trying to prepare herself for the inevitable - a confrontation with Angel. She still spoke with him on occasion of course, but as Angel was never particularly open about much of anything, she had no idea of how she should approach him. She was pleased to find that said confrontation could wait a few minutes when she was greeted by Wesley.

"Hey, Wes..." Buffy smiled and half-heartedly raised her hand in greeting. Maybe this wasn't the out she was looking for. What did she and Wesley have in common?

"Buffy, hello. We have everything ready for the girls, as promised. Fred and Cordelia have been ecstatic. They're out now, picking out gifts of some sort..." At Buffy's puzzled look at the mention of Fred, Wesley shrugged. "Fred's been working with us for a couple of years now. She's..." he trailed off and blushed. It was no secret that he had feelings for Fred, and now that she and Gunn had broken up, he was working on trying to build up a relationship with her.

"Fred's a _girl_? And I thought my name was weird." Buffy muttered. Wesley hid a small smile, and suddenly looked over Buffy's shoulder. Xander stood there, holding Tara, while Willow stood at his side. Xander spoke first, in his usual light, informal tone

"Hey. I know you remember Willow,-" the redhead in question smiled earnestly at him. She'd almost always liked Wesley. "- but I don't think you've had the pleasure of meeting Tara." Tara looked curiously at Wes, and subconsciously popped her thumb into her mouth. Wesley watched her curiously, wondering how this clearly shy girl had managed to fall in with Buffy's friends. Rather than voice his question, he kneeled and greeted Willow.

"Last I saw you, you were a few feet taller. I trust this wasn't your doing?" His tone was not a condescending one; he had heard about Willow's foray into the dark arts and was merely concerned for her well-being. Still, his question earned a glare from the redhead. They quietly conversed as Tara watched.

"Hey, Buffster, if I want to get back home with time to sleep before my shift, I really have to get going." Xander said to Buffy. He bent down to put Tara on the floor, but the blonde girl clung to him. She didn't want to be in a strange place. Also she was cold, and being held was both comforting and warming. Having Buffy hold her would be awkward, and she liked staying with Xander.

"Come on, Tara. It's only for a little while. And hey - you might end up liking this place. I mean if you like big empty hotels and broody vampires-"

"Not helping, Xander." Buffy commented. "Just give her to me, I can take her." And the Slayer reached for Tara, who just clung tighter to Xander.

"NO!" she cried, trying to cling to Xander and kick at Buffy simultaneously. This was the scene that Cordelia and Fred walked in to, shopping bags in each hand. Cordelia raised an eyebrow.

"Do I even want to know what's going on?" She wished she'd had her camera with her. Xander was trying to push away a little toddler, who clung to him with one arm and both her legs. Her other hand, oddly, was pulling at Buffy's hair. Willow and Wesley had since stopped talking in favor of watching the scene.

"Someone...needs to take her..." Xander panted. This was ridiculous. He was fighting _Tara_ of all people. He didn't understand why she was being like this. When she had been older, the only person she had been clingy to was Willow, and it was nothing like the way she was now.

"Who _is_ she?" Cordelia asked, confused. She'd been informed only that there were two girls being dropped off, and that one was Willow. She'd at least assumed that the other girl would be _someone_ she knew from Sunnydale.

Having finally managed to detach Tara's little fingers from her hair, Buffy turned to Cordelia. " Cordy, this is Tara. She's...Willow's friend. And ours, of course. Our friend too. She's all of our friend. She's...not usually like this." She looked kind of apologetic. Cordelia looked at Buffy and Xander. It was clear that these two were just not meant to take care of children. The little blonde girl - Tara, she reminded herself - was probably traumatized by the Slayer and her band of weird friends.

"Okay. You two, hand her to me. She clearly-" She stopped, finally seeing Willow. "Oh my god! Willow, is that you? I don't remember you being that cute when we were little! Come here, let me look at you hair..." She moved on to Willow, who was torn between running and making a game out of this, or just letting herself be poked and prodded and probably dressed up like a doll by Cordelia. She figured that just giving in would waste less energy, because in the end she'd lose anyway.

While Cordelia was busy cooing over the redhead, Fred dropped the bags she'd been carrying and slowly made her way over to Xander, Buffy, and Wesley. She felt that she kind of understood how Tara felt, and maybe she could help out.

"Hi sweetie," Fred cooed to Tara. Still not loosening her death grip on Xander, she looked curiously at the brunette. This girl, she could tell, was not like Cordelia.

Confident that she had Tara's attention, Fred began offering her food, treats, and activities to help her get used to being at the hotel. "...and we have a room all made up, just for you and Willow. I'll show it to ya, if you like?" She finished. Tara looked to Willow, who was being held by Cordelia and didn't look a bit happy about it, and decided the redhead needed freedom. And the way Tara figured, it was better to be carried by Fred than Cordelia. But the grown-ups still hadn't won the game. She would stop fighting Xander (and inevitably Buffy) leaving, but she had other ways of rebelling.

The small blonde held one arm out to Fred, signaling for the Texan to take her. Buffy and Xander stared at her, their eyes asking how she managed to do that. Fred bounced Tara on her hip a little, and just responded that she could kind of identify with the little girl. Her comment put Tara at ease, and she waved goodbye to Xander. Willow voiced her goodbyes, and begged Cordelia to let her down.

As Xander left, Wesley and Buffy left to call Sunnydale and see if any progress had been made on finding the talisman, and then to locate Angel. It was doubtful that he was unaware of the new presences in the hotel, but he couldn't hide forever. Cordelia and Fred took the two mini-witches on a tour of the hotel and then to the room where they would be staying.


End file.
